CarMax coming to Automile

The Automile, two dozen automobile dealerships on a stretch of Route 1 in Norwood, Mass. is about to get even more competitive.

Used car retailer CarMax (NYSE: KMX) is driving ahead with plans for a superstore at the former Home Quarters Warehouse site. The Richmond, Va.-based company bought the 23.5-acre parcel last year for $20 million. The 135,000-square-foot building has been demolished to make way for a new 45,000-square-foot CarMax showroom.

CarMax, which calls itself the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, opened its first store in Virginia in 1993 and now has more than 100 stores across the country. It has one other Massachusetts location in North Attleboro. The retailer is coming to one of the most competitive regions of the Bay State on the Automile, where used and new car dealerships line both sides of the highway.

“I think it’s fantastic that they’re coming, they are a good company,” said Ernie Boch Jr., president of Boch Enterprises. “This is a big national company coming to the Automile for the first time selling vehicles. They will bring traffic and shoppers to us. I do welcome them with open arms.”